Thursday, March 17, 2022

Kika Sprangers - Mind's Eye (March 2022 ZenneZ Records)

Kika Sprangers is one of The Netherlands’ most captivating jazz musicians. After her full album debut, Human Traits (2019, nominated for an Edison Jazz Award – the Dutch equivalent of the Grammy), her new album Mind’s Eye is another example of Kika's artistic quest for what makes us human. For her, imagination is key.

During several periods of lockdown, Kika was found in an abandoned TivoliVredenburg – the concert hall that she is working at because of a two-year Jazz Artist In Residence Program, with the support of Performing Arts Fund NL.

“What is left of the human aspect in a large building with closed doors, where the lights go out automatically after an hour or so and where it should be buzzing with noise in the corridors, caused by a steaming crowd? I never expected this silence and emptiness to be inspiring to me. There was literally no one and nothing, and it triggered my imagination. And then I realized, this is exactly what makes us human: the ability to imagine.”

The outcome is a rich conceptual album that explores the cross overs between modern jazz and neo classical.

1. Mind's Eye 06:31
2. All We Have Left 05:53
3. Building Castles in the Air 06:46
4. Film Noir 09:24
5. Placebo 03:55
6. Reflections 01:47
7. Mirage 07:23
8. What If 02:40
9. A Picture Paints a Thousand Words 03:53
10. Mind's Eye Echo 01:17

Kika Sprangers – soprano & alto saxophone
Anna Serierse – vocals
Koen Schalkwijk – piano
Alessandro Fongaro – double bass
Willem Romers – drums